Finally, some contributors think a matching Google account helps local listing rank higher. Again, I disagree – I see too many hijacked and spam local pages ranking #1 in local search. But I’m not about to duel expertise with these folks in local search – they’ll kick my butt from here to Canada.

CEO

Ian Lurie is CEO and founder of Portent Inc. He's recorded training for Lynda.com, writes regularly for the Portent Blog and has been published on AllThingsD, Forbes.com and TechCrunch. Ian speaks at conferences around the world, including SearchLove, MozCon, SIC and ad:Tech. Follow him on Twitter at portentint. He also just published a book about strategy for services businesses: One Trick Ponies Get Shot, available on Kindle. Read More